Darwin Award Nomination

[RockX]

A man trying to steal copper wiring Saturday morning from a Southern California Edison substation received a shock that left him in critical condition and knocked out power for thousands of San Bernardino residents, police officials said.

Officers responded just before 2:05 a.m. to the substation near the intersection of Rialto and Stoddard avenues. A witness -- Porario Velasquez -- told police dispatchers that a man in his 20s tried to steal wiring and was set on fire.

"I heard a banging… and all of a sudden an explosion that was like lightning," Velasquez told KTLA.

He then saw the suspected copper thief flailing his arms, which were covered in flames.

Police and firefighters found the man inside the fenced substation, according to a news release issued by the San Bernardino Police Department. Paramedics rushed the man to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton where he is now listed in extremely grave condition.

The man was shocked by as many as 33,000 volts while he tried to steal the wiring, according to the news release. Officials have not yet released the man's name, saying his family has not yet been notified of his condition.

The shock also resulted in a power outage to more than 2,300 Edison customers, according to the news release. By 2 p.m., power was restored to all customers, Edison officials said.


http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-san-bernardino-copper-theft-power-outage,0,4184413.story

Update - A suspected copper thief who received an electrical shock while trying to steal wires in San Bernardino died at a hospital Sunday night. Michael Morga Garcia, 26, of San Bernardino was pronounced dead at 8:32 p.m., San Bernardino County coroner's officials said.

 

[RockX]

Another nomination....

[h=1]Colorado State University student tries to jump into pool from 3 stories up on roof of apartment complex[/h]

FORT COLLINS - A Colorado State University sophomore jumped from the roof of a Fort Collins apartment complex Saturday afternoon and landed on the concrete before his body rolled into the pool.


Ian Smith is in critical condition after video shows him jumping from the roof during an afternoon pool party.


His brother says Ian has broken ankles, broken heels and multiple broken vertebrae in his lower back.


"Ugh, it definitely made me sick," Brittany Polliard, who witnessed the jump, said.


She saw a "pool of blood" after Smith's jump. Jared Roberts lives in the building that Smith climbed. Roberts says people were screaming, and when he looked up,
Smith was on the roof. He says he turned away to avoid seeing the jump, but he heard Smith hitting the pavement.


"You could hear him hit it, and just kinda rolled into the pool," said Roberts.


Witnesses say some people were urging Smith not to jump, though some were encouraging him. Witnesses say people were drinking and lounging by the pool.

Smith, they say, did not live in the Ram's Village apartment complex.


"When they realized how far he'd jumped from, one of the paramedics was saying he was lucky to be alive," Roberts said.


Witnesses say the student was helped out of the pool, and firefighters confirm an ambulance took him to Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland.


Ram's Village is just blocks away from Ram's Pointe - the site of a mega party in the summer of 2011 - which ended with many students arrested and garnered national media attention.


http://www.9news.com/news/local/art...dent-tries-to-jump-into-pool-from-roof-misses